Social media campaigns are becoming more integrated into the overall online marketing mix. And as with anything on the Web, you need to think global to succeed in the long term.

To succeed with social media marketing for different cultures, you need to familiarise yourself with what’s happening in social media around the world.

You must research the emerging trends and identify where the social media hotspots are. You also need to consider that different social networks are popular in different parts of the world. You should carefully research which networks are popular in the regions you aim to target

With that in mind, here is a summary of the most popular social networks in various countries around the world.

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Guest post by Brian Jenkins

Over a billion and a half people use the Internet, and this has created a plethora of opportunities for talented Internet marketers. Specialized knowledge in Internet marketing and social media is vital for many businesses. Yes, there are successful, self-taught Internet marketers, but many folks aspiring to make a name for themselves in the field are looking to education programs to enhance their skills. Internet marketing and social media degree programs are available both on-campus and online.

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To market your company effectively, you need to find out where your target audience is. In this post I’ll show you how you can do this. I like using examples, so in this case, I’ll assume you sell Star Wars merchandise.

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If you’ve ever gone to an industry conference, film festival, grand opening, or author signing, then you can appreciate the energy such events can create. Industry conferences gather together the best and brightest minds in order to share ideas and plan for the future. Film festivals celebrate great work by experienced and up-and-coming film makers. Grand openings drum up customers for brand new businesses. And author signings are often just one of many stops on a book tour to connect with readers who might want to buy the author’s latest books.

So how does this relate to you? Well, bloggers can also apply these same strategies to their own blogging practices. As bloggers, we thrive on buzz and the latest keyword trends, but we also need to figure out how to keep readers loyal. One way to do this is to set up a similar energetic event that excites our community of readers and other bloggers, while also creating momentum for the year until the event rolls around again. Here are a few ways bloggers could do this:

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Guest post by Alexis Bonari

Success in attracting and retaining readers is often influenced by a blog’s level of interactivity. Many readers are more active than passive and want to feel like they have a role in affecting a blog’s content, design, structure, and overall ongoing conversation. Posts shouldn’t be thought of as soliloquies, but as the beginnings of highly interactive discourses. For effective ways to keep your blog interactive and encourage your readers to come back for more, try reading and adapting these ten tips to fit your blog’s needs.

1. Encourage Guest Posts

If you want an easy way to get more players involved in your conversation, encourage guest posts. Even though your readers are probably used to your style and enjoy reading your posts, interactivity can be improved by giving visitors the opportunity to read something different every once in a while. This also enables you to participate in conversations by posting comments on someone else’s content. To promote guest posts, include a separate tab for submissions or mention it on your contact page.

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Guest post by Alexis Bonari

If you aren’t on Facebook by now, you are probably the only one who isn’t. My grandmother has a Facebook page and anyone who can type, is able to start their own page with no problem. Most everyone uses Facebook as a social meeting place, but did you know that you could easily make money on Facebook as well? I’ve compiled a Top 5 list of the best ways to make a buck on Facebook without leaving your living room:

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Daniel Scocco of Daily Blog Tips started a membership site, Online Profits, last year to help people learn about making money online. Daniel has just re-launched and re-vamped Online Profits, and this time there is no charge to get all of the valuable content. The only requirement is that you open a hosting account with one of their hosting partners (HostGator or HostNine).

Online Profits includes lessons and case studies that cover topics related to making money online in a variety of different ways. Daniel will also be launching a new site and Online Profit members will get to watch and follow the progress as he builds the site and makes money with it.

A few years ago when I started blogging I worked with Daniel on a regular basis writing posts for Daily Blog Tips. I have a lot of respect for Daniel and his work and I highly recommend that you consider joining Online Profits if you’re looking to make money online. Daniel has a lot of experience and he’s developed a great program that includes information and teaching from a lot of other experts in the field as well.

Note: This post includes affiliate links to Online Profits.

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This is a guest post by Susan White

Gone are the days when Internet marketing was perceived as the bold, new and innovative way to market and publicize your products and services. Today, email marketing and other forms of pushing your products on the web are passé. The Internet is growing faster than leaps and bounds, and most marketers find that they’re being left behind because they’re not able to keep up or change pace accordingly. They’re sticking to tried and tested methods that have worked for them so far without realizing that for a medium that changes as fast as the Internet, you must continue to hone and revamp your marketing strategies if you wish to ensure continued success. Just as you took the step and crossed the chasm between traditional marketing and Internet marketing a decade or so ago, it’s time to start bridging the smaller chasms between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 and any future avatars that are sure to follow. So with these basic principles in mind, here’s what marketers need to do to ensure that their tactics continue to work:

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For the past 3 years I have been actively blogging in the web/graphic design niche through the Vandelay Design blog and DesignM.ag. During that time the landscape of design blogging has changed considerably, as it seems new blogs are launched almost every hour, and a growing number are becoming highly profitable.

I recently sold DesignM.ag and through the process I’ve looked back at the last few years and what I have learned along the way. Blogging in a popular industry where hundreds or thousands of other blogs exist has pros and cons. In this post I’d like to cover five specific things that I have learned, hopefully it will be helpful to you as well.

While the context of this post is my experience blogging about topics related to design, I think they can easily apply to most other niches or industries that are very crowded.

1. Obstacles Present Opportunities

If you’ve read many articles with blogging tips I’m sure you’ve read that you should select a niche that doesn’t present much competition. In my opinion, depending on your strategy for growing and/or monetizing your blog you may be better off blogging in a more popular niche. If your blogging approach is to create a large number of small blogs that target specific words or phrases and are optimized to make money with AdSense or affiliate programs, then you’re probably better off avoiding crowded niches. On the other hand, if you’re looking to build an authority blog where you’ll be active and you’re willing to dedicate a significant amount of time, crowded niches present some powerful opportunities.

The reason for avoiding crowded niches is usually that it is easier to achieve top search engine rankings or to stand out from other bloggers, both true. But the obstacle of a crowded niche can be turned into a very profitable opportunity. Here are a few examples:

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I used to subscribe to just about any marketing, social media, or blogging-related blog that I cam across. Over a period of time I drastically cut back on the number of blogs that I follow, and now I can do a better job of focusing on the highest quality content that is relevant to my own situation. If you’re interested in learning more about internet marketing or if you’d like to start making money online in 2010, I highly recommend that you subscribe to these three blogs.

ViperChill

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